Converge sustains profitability

MANILA, Philippines — Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is optimistic about its growth trajectory throughout the rest of the year after it maintained strong profitability in the first quarter.

Converge reported a 27.2 percent growth in net income to P1.97 billion in the first quarter from P1.55 billion in the same period in 2021.

The listed fiber broadband provider also achieved an EBITDA of P4.56 billion during the quarter, 49.4 percent higher than the previous year.

Consolidated revenues jumped by nearly 40 percent to P7.75 billion from P5.55 million, driven by growth in both residential and enterprise segments.

Converge generated P6.81 billion in revenues from its residential business, up 42 percent year-on-year, driven by a 52.5 percent increase in its subscriber base during the three-month period.

The company ended March with 1.802 million residential subscribers.

Enterprise revenues, on the other hand, went up by 25.1 percent to P938.2 million in the first quarter, mostly from the strong growth in the small and medium enterprise segment.

“On the residential side, which is the core growth engine, we continue to see that there is very strong demand in the market. Just looking also at the net subscriber in the market, they continue to grow every quarter,” Converge chief financial officer advisor Matthias Vukovich said in an online briefing.

“We are very positive on the residential side that we can continue to sustain the growth in line with the guidance,” he said.

On the enterprise side, Vukovich said it is encouraging that the company is seeing more demand for enterprise connectivity with COVID restrictions easing.

“It will be a mix of both connectivity requirements at home and in the premises of enterprise, so were very positive for the rest of the year,” he said.

Converge deployed 643,528 new fiber-to-the-home ports during the quarter, the fastest among the local players in the industry.

Its nationwide network as of end-March reached more than 12.2 million homes, representing a 47.3 percent household coverage.

This puts the company on track to reach its accelerated target to cover approximately 55 percent of households in the Philippines by 2023.